Danube Christmas Delights

Board your ship and settle into your stateroom before exploring Budapest, a city divided by the Danube River into the historic Buda and the lively Pest. Explore Budapest during the day by visiting its art nouveau buildings, historic castles, and palaces. Walk through the Castle District, see Buda Castle, and unwind in the city’s thermal baths. At night, watch the city lights reflect on the Danube, with the Chain Bridge linking Buda and Pest.

During the Christmas season, Budapest’s festive markets bring extra charm to the city. In Pest, Vorosmarty Square hosts the largest market, with vendors selling traditional crafts and local food. Nearby, St. Stephen’s Basilica market offers mulled wine and nightly light shows on the church’s facade. Across the Danube in Buda, Fo Square features seasonal events and an outdoor ice rink, adding to the holiday atmosphere.

The aroma of mulled wine and Slovakian delicacies mixes with the sound of Christmas carols to turn Bratislava’s historic Old Town into a winter wonderland during the holiday season. The medieval Bratislava Castle overlooks light-festooned streets that give the city a fairytale glow. Vendors in Hlavné Námestíe Square display authentic artisanal handicrafts, and a specially decorated Christmas tram adds to the holiday atmosphere as it transports visitors to the different fairs spread out around the city.

The yuletide season transforms Vienna’s beautiful squares into delightful Christmas markets. Festive lights illuminate the Old Town. The Schönbrunn market, set in front of the baroque Hapsburg summer palace, and Freyung market, nestled in the city center, are the perfect destinations for unique handmade decorations. Seasonal music and choral singing provide a merry ambiance to holiday festivities in Am Hof Square, while the market at Belvedere Square mixes excellent shopping opportunities with views of the stately palace and adjacent lake to create a fairytale atmosphere.

A small university town at the eastern end of the Danube’s Wachau Valley, Krems is surrounded by terraced vineyards. In its heyday, during the 12th century, Krems held even more importance than Vienna for its iron, grain, salt, and wine trade. As to the latter, the city has played a long and celebrated part in the popularity of Wachau’s wine culture; the valley’s south slopes in Krems are bathed in sunlight all day and create some of the best Riesling and Veltliner wines in the world. The city’s cobblestone streets, taverns, wine bars, and cafés have a timeless appeal.

Sail through a serene tapestry of terraced vineyards, forested slopes, charming towns, and castle ruins in Austria’s Wachau Valley, celebrated as perhaps the most scenic stretch of the Danube. Journey 18 miles through this vast UNESCO World Heritage Site, where the river courses through picturesque hillsides. Gaze upon the prolific grapevines and quaint wine-producing villages hugging the shores—the legacy of vintners that stretches as far back as Celtic and Roman times and an echo of the more than 30 monasteries that served as vineyards in Renaissance days.

Linz is today’s provincial capital of Upper Austria. The city’s famous Linzer Torte, the jam-filled cake topped with almonds, hails from here and can be found in any number of cafés and the stalls of the city’s Christmas markets. In the Old Town, the baroque architecture of the main square provides a stunning backdrop for its Christmas market as the scent of gingerbread fills the air. At the Volksgarten, a nativity scene provides an atmospheric feature with the sounds of classical music and moving figurines that tell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

Centered around the beautiful St. Stephen’s Cathedral, home to Europe’s largest pipe organ, the romantic market stalls of the Christkindlmarkt is a delight to explore. An array of handmade goods, from tasty treats to ornaments, offer a wealth of opportunities to take home unique artisan gifts created by local craftsmen. Periodically throughout the festive season, the cathedral hosts yuletide concerts; the sound of choirs singing can be heard as their voices echo through the courtyard and the town’s narrow streets.

Bid farewell to your fellow guests and journey home. Or spend more time exploring, perhaps joining one of the extension packages you can add after your Viking cruise.